Effects of acupuncture on Alzheimer’s disease: the mechanistic study

Introduction Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by memory loss and cognitive impairment,often accompanied by emotional apathy,agitation,depression,delusions aggression,and other psychological symptoms[1–3].Psychological symptoms such as apathy,agitation,and depression tend to increase with the duration and severity of AD.

Study of the potential mechanism of acupuncture treatment for functional dyspepsia based on association rule mining and bioinformatics/network pharmacology approach

Objective:To explore the main acupoint prescription and mechanism of acupuncture in treating Functional dyspepsia(FD)by analyzing the clinical randomized controlled trial literature on acupoints and targets of acupuncture in the treatment of FD combined with association rule mining and bioinformatics/network pharmacology methods.Methods:Search relevant clinical randomized controlled trial literature on acupoints and therapeutic targets of acupuncture in the treatment of FD from eight databases from their inception to June 18th,2022.We obtained acupuncture selection points,meridian,and therapeutic targets and established acupoints database for acupuncture treatment of FD.FD-related targets were collected from GeneCards,DisGeNET,OMIM,and DrugBank databases.We obtained the potential targets of acupuncture on FD by taking the intersection of acupuncture for FD therapeutic targets and FD-related targets.We performed the protein-protein interaction network,Gene Ontology(GO)analysis,and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis.Results:In this study,26 Randomized Controlled Trials related to acupuncture treatment of FD were retrieved.We obtained 29 acupoints,17 acupuncture for FD therapeutic targets,and 10 intersection targets.Tumor necrosis factor(TNF),Interleukin(IL)-1,and Neuropeptide Y(NPY)are key targets of acupuncture in the treatment of FD.Conclusion:ST36-CV12-PC6-LR3 is the main acupoint prescription for FD.Acupuncture may affect Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction,Gastric acid secretion,and IL-17,TNF signaling pathways by regulating related key targets,and play a synergistic role in the treatment of FD by inhibiting gastric acid secretion,alleviating inflammatory response,regulating the brain-gut axis,improving mood and other aspects.

To explore acupuncture therapy for post-stroke gastrointestinal dysfunction based on gut microbiota

The occurrence of post-stroke gastrointestinal disorder(PSGD)is closely related to gut microbiota.Acupuncture has a positive effect on PSGD.However,it is not completely clear how acupuncture can mediate the regulation of gut microbiota in the treatment of PSGD.In this paper,the relationship between PSGD risk factors and gut microbiota,the relationship between gut microbiota and PSGD,the regulation of gut microbiota and metabolites by acupuncture,and the application research progress of acupuncture in regulating PSGD were reviewed to explore the mechanism of gut microbiota in the treatment of PSGD.We found that acupuncture can improve intestinal mucosal permeability,increase the number of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus,and increase serum 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT)and short chain fatty acids(SCFAs)to relieve gastrointestinal symptoms and improve PSGD.